Clipping machines

ABSTRACT

A clipping machine for clipping bags containing meat or meat products, has a main frame in which an anvil is arranged. A magazine having a supply of wire clips is arranged to feed clips to the anvil. A plunger is movable to and from the anvil. When it moves to the anvil it deforms a wire clip round a portion of the bag on the anvil. An air motor is provided for moving the plunger or it can be moved by hand.

limited States Patent [191 Whales [451 May 14, 1974 CLIPPING MACHINES [76] Inventor: George Basil Whales, Powerscroft Rd. Cray Rd. Footscray, Sidcup, Kent, England [22] Filed: Jan. 19, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 219,006

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan.,20, 1971 Great Britain 2768/71 [52] [1.8. CI. 29/243.57, 53/138 A [5]] Int. Cl. B231) 11/00, B65b 51/04 [58] Field of Search..'. 29/243157, 212 D;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.210,s35 10/1965 Tipper 29/2435? 3,279,033 10/1966 Normand 53/138A Primary Examiner0thell M. Simpson Assistant Examiner- -J. C. Peters Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William R. Liberman 5 7] ABSTRACT A clipping machine for clipping bags containing meat or meat products, has a main frame in which an anvil is arranged. A magazine having a supply of wire clips is arranged to feed clips to the anvil. A plunger is movable to and from the anvil. When it moves to the anvil it deforms a wire clip round a portion of the bag on the anvil. An air motor is provided for moving the plunger or it can be moved by hand.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CLIPPING MACHINES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION Machines which can deform a wire clip around a portion of a cellulose or fibrous bag or casing so as to seal the bag or casing are known. They are particularly useful for the clipping of bags filled with bacon, fresh meat, or other meat products.

Such known machines are usually operated by unskilled operators who usually have difficulty in keeping the machines clean and in operating the machines. An

object of the invention is to provide a clipping machine which is easy to keep clean and easy to operate, even by unskilled operators.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION A bag clipping machine according to the invention comprises a main frame, ,a plate removably secured to the main frame by quick release fastenings, an anvil secured to the plate and having a grooved support surface on which a portion of a bag to beclipped can be placed, a plunger movable to and from the anvil to deform a clip round the portion of the bag placed on the anvil, means for moving the plunger to and from the anvil, and a magazine for clips extending from one side of the frame and positioned so that clips can pass from the magazine on to the anvil.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a bag clipping ma-' chine according to the invention,

FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the same machine, and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION In a machine according to the invention the end of the bag or casing l to be clipped is pleated at 2 and placed on an anvil 3 after which a plunger 4 (FIG. 4) moves a U-shaped wire clip (a supply of which is shown at 5) to a position when its limbs embrace the bag and then further movement of the plunger deforms the clip tightly around the bag so that the bag is closed and sealed.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention such a machine comprises a base 5' which can be attached ,to a work bench in any suitable manner. A main frame or spine 6 (FIG. 4) extends upwards from the base 5.

A cover plate 7 is fitted to one side of the main frame or spine by quick-release fastenings 8,9. The side of this cover palte 7 which contacts the main frame or spine has a vertical slot 10 in which the clipping plunger or ram 4 can slide up and down. This slot 10 leads at the bottom into an opening 11 in which the anvil 3 is located. The plunger 4 is arranged to move an inverted U-shaped wire clip on to this anvil. The upper surface of the anvil 3 has two adjacent grooves 12 (FIG. 4) and continued movement of the plunger towards the anvil deforms the wire clip and causes each of the limbs to run in one of these grooves.

The anvil 3 is supported on one side of a flapper plate 13. This flapper plate 13 is fixed to the cover plate 7 by means of a screw 14 which passes through the flapper plate and the cover plate and is threaded into a knurled nut 15 between which and the other side of the cover plate bears a coil spring 16 surrounding the screw. Thus, the flapper plate 13 can move away from the cover plate 7 against the loading of the spring 16. The flapper plate 13 has an aperture 17 into which a portion of a bag or casing to be clipped can be inserted so as to lie on the anvil. Pressure from the plunger 4 will then first cause a clip to embrace the portion of the bag or casing lying on the anvil and then to be deformed around that portion.

The quick-release fastening for the cover plate is provided by a screw 9 working in a nut with a knurled head 8. The screw 9 passes through a slot 18 in the spine or main frame and is also engaged in a cooperating openended slot 19 in the cover plate 7. The cover plate has a locating dowel 20 or dowels which fit in corresponding aperture or apertures (not visible) in the spine or frame. This arrangement enables the cover plate to be completely removed from the spine or frame for the purposes of cleaning or routine maintenance.

Clips 5 are fed to the anvil 13 from a magazine rail 21 connected to the side of the spine or main frame 6 which does not have the cover plate. This magazine rail 21 has a main vertical portion which curves in to an approximately horizontal bottom portion so that the magazine rail is of approximately L-shape. The clips 5 are fitted round and embrace this rail and can slide down the rail, through an aperture 22 in the cover plate and onto the anvil. A weight 23 in slidable on the magazine rail so as to bear on the uppermost clip in the stack. The pressure of this weight urges the clips towards the anvil 3. The weight 23 is tethered by a chain 24 extending between the weight at the upper part of the magazine rail. The horizontal portion of the magazine rail is provided with a transverse aperture 25 in which a clip retaining pin 26 can be removably inserted. When this clip retaining pin is engaged in its aperture clips cannot pass beyond the pin and so cannot enter the aperture in the cover plate and thence pass to the anvil.

A platform 27 is fitted on top of the main frame and supports an air motor 28 for raising and lowering the plunger or ram 4. This air motor is controlled by a valve 29 which is also mounted on the platform. The valve is provided with suitable silencers. The valve and the air motor are covered by a hood 30.

The plunger 4 is a metal bar or strip which can slide up and down in the vertical slot 10 in the cover plate. It is connected to a piston of the air motor by means of a clevis 31. The clevis has a screw-threaded connection with a screw-threaded portion 32 of the piston rod so that its position on the piston rod can be adjusted by rotation of the clevis. The clevis can be retained in any desired position by means of a lock-nut 33.

The valve 29 controlling the air motor 28 is operated by means of an operating rod 34 movably fitted on one side of the main frame or spine 6. This operating rod 34 is connected at one end with the valve 29 and at the other end with an operating lever 35 having a pivotal connection with the main frame or spine. The lever can therefore, be moved up and down to raise or lower the operating rod to open or close the valve. The operating lever 35 can be provided with a thumb plate 36 so that it can be moved by hand or it can be connected through a suitable linkage with a pedal at floor level.

The portion of the clippingplunger or ram 4 and the clevis joint 31 which extends between the cover plate and the platform can be enclosed in a cover 37. This cover 37 is conveniently in the form of a split sleeve of resilient plastics material. The cover 37 is provided with flanges 38 at its split or slot and these flanges 38 can engage in guides 39 fitted on each side of the frame. When it is desired to service the machine this resilient split sleeve can easily be dis-engaged to provide access to the lock-nut and clevis joint to permit them to be adjusted.

In a modified machine the clipping plunger or ram is operated by a hand lever instead of by an air motor. The hand lever is pivotally connected to one side of the main frame or spine and is connected to the upper end of the clipping plunger or rod by means of a suitable linkage.

What is claimed is:

l. A bag clipping machine comprising a main frame, a plate removably secured to the main frame, an anvil secured to the plate and having a concavely grooved surface on which a portion of a bag to be clipped can be supported, a plunger movable to and from the anvil to deform a clip round the portion of the bag placed on the anvil, means for moving the plunger to and from the anvil, and a magazine for clips extending from one side of the frame and positioend so that clips can pass from the magazine on to the anvil, and wherein the anvil is supported on a flapper plate secured in contact with a face of the removable plate by a yieldable spring connection which permits limited movement of the flapper plate laterally of the removable plate against the biasing action of the spring.

2. A machine as claimedd in claim 1 wherein the removable plate has a slot and the plunger is a bar which can move in this slot to and from the anvil and is connected to a clevis joint which has a screw-threaded connection with a piston rod of the air motor so that the position of the clevis joint with respect to the anvil is adjustable by rotation of the clevis joint and a locking nut being provided to secure the clevis joint in a desired position.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the magazine is a guide rail which can be embraced by U- shapeel clips and which extends from the main frame with a portion of the rail leading to the anvil, a weight slidable on the guide rail so as to bear on the clips and urge them towards the anvil, and means for preventing clips advancing to the anvil.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plunger and the clevis joint are enclosed by a resilient cover having flanges removably engaged in guides in the main frame. 

1. A bag clipping machine comprising a main frame, a plate removably secured to the main frame, an anvil secured to the plate and having a concavely grooved surface on which a portion of a bag to be clipped can be supported, a plunger movable to and from the anvil to deform a clip round the portion of the bag placed on the anvil, means for moving the plunger to and from the anvil, and a magazine for clips extending from one side of the frame and positioend so that clips can pass from the magazine on to the anvil, and wherein the anvil is supported on a flapper plate secured in contact with a face of the removable plate by a yieldable spring connection which permits limited movement of the flapper plate laterally of the removable plate against the biasing action of the spring.
 2. A machine as claimedd in claim 1 wherein the removable plate has a slot and the plunger is a bar which can move in this slot to and from the anvil and is connected to a clevis joint which has a screw-threaded connection with a piston rod of the air motor so that the position of the clevis joint with respect to the anvil is adjustable by rotation of the clevis joint and a locking nut being provided to secure the clevis joint in a desired position.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein the magazine is a guide rail which can be embraced by U-shapee1 clips and which extends from the main frame with a portion of the rail leading to the anvil, a weight slidable on the guide rail so as to bear on the clips and urge them towards the anvil, and means for preventing clips advancing to the anvil.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the plunger and the clevis joint are enclosed by a resilient cover having flanges removably engaged in guides in the main frame. 